You’ll have to overcome stiff competition to secure a slot in one of the most prestigious schools in the country. With applicants numbering in the tens of thousands for the few available spots, you have to utilize the most effective aids you have at your disposal — a college admissions consultant such as Write Track Admissions, for example.
However, that shouldn’t serve to put a damper on your dreams. Instead, it should drive you to take proactive measures that can propel you to the top. For the best results, you need to work at being a stellar student.
1. Step away from the grind
In his best-selling book, How to Become a Straight A Student, Carl Newport, a Professor of Computer Science examines the study habits of the best-performing students. Surprisingly, none of these students who passed college with flying colors were putting in 14 hours of study a day.
Instead, they put in a lower number of study hours than the average students. Carl points out that the best performance had refined their study habits to get the maximum result from minimum input. As a result, they didn’t spend every minute buried in a book or at the library.
They were able to strike an elusive balance between their academic and social life. Newport was surprised to learn that some of these top students partied harder than most, and that didn’t affect their grades.
2. Refine your learning strategies
To the average student, the idea of getting straight A’s might seem like a foreign concept. In most cases, they’re more than ecstatic to make the passing grade in any unit. Average students tend to think that studying to pass an exam is a lot of hard work over many hours.
They fail to realize that learning is an art as well as a science. There’s more to the art of reading than just running your eyes over the text on a page. Without a refined reading method, you’re likely to put in lots of study hours and still manage a dismal performance.
The Feynman technique, which entails breaking down a subject to its simplest form and explaining it to an 8-year old is a proven way to increase subject mastery and retention.
3. Refine your time management
If your study method entails pulling all-nighters fueled by lots of coffee or energy drinks, you need to rethink your approach. Students often result to study marathons because they leave reading and assignments until the last possible moment.
Proper time management coupled with efficient learning methods can help you spread your classwork over the entire semesters. That means that you can get all your work done long before the deadline. You can schedule regular study blocks that will help you breeze through your classes without breaking a sweat.
To stand a chance of making it to the top tier colleges and universities in the country, you need to become a stellar student. You’ll need to beat a horde of other students for a coveted spot in such schools. With the right dedication and strategies, anyone can improve their academic performance and hold their own against the best of the best.
